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Family dinner just got a lot more exciting with taco mac and cheese. Homemade seasoning and a made from scratch cheese sauce creates a high protein dish richly flavorful and insanely good.
Homemade cheese sauce is always a good idea. Making it healthy and high protein is an even better idea. How do I make the taco mac and cheese deceivingly healthy? With my secret ingredient, cottage cheese. No one will know it’s in there, they will only know they can’t put the fork down.
To make this sauce high protein and creamy we use 8 oz. of low fat cottage cheese combined with salsa. So simple, so effective. Blend the cottage cheese with an immersion blender, food processor or a small blender prior to adding the salsa. Get it as smooth as possible, then add your salsa, milk, and flour and you are left with a creamy cheese sauce ready to be added to the taco mac and cheese.
This taco mac and cheese is full of dairy so making it dairy free may be a bit tricky. This recipe uses cottage cheese, milk and two different types of cheese. You can try with dairy free alternatives. I am using Banza Chickpea Pasta Elbows to add protein to this dish which are also gluten free.
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for this Taco Mac and Cheese.
Ground Beef: this recipe uses lean 96/4 ground beef. You can use any percent beef or substitute with ground chicken or turkey. I do suggest sticking with ground meats.
Bell Pepper: this recipe uses one red bell pepper chopped into small chunks. You can use red, green, orange or yellow.
Homemade Taco Seasoning: I use the same homemade taco seasoning in all of my taco flavored recipes. With a combination of cumin, paprika and chili powder it is tested and loved time and time again. Use it on anything!
Cottage Cheese: you’ll need 1/2 a small container or 8 oz. of your favorite low fat cottage cheese. Good Culture and Nancy’s Organic are my favorite brands.
Salsa: I definitely suggest using the fresh salsa found in the refrigerated sections. They’re low calorie, fresh, and flavorful. I like used the Signature Select Roasted Taqueria Style in Medium. This is where you adjust your heat level. Use mild to hot salsa!
Elbow Noodles: you can use any elbow noodles. This recipe uses 8 oz. Banza Chickpea Pasta Elbow which has added protein and is gluten free. Swap with your favorite just note the nutrition facts will change.
Milk: the sauce has 1/4 cup of whole milk. You can use nonfat, 2% coconut or almond. The nutrition facts will change but not by a huge amount as it is such a small amount used.
Flour: to get the sauce to thicken I added 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour. You can use gluten free flour or even Kodiak protein flour.
Cheddar Cheese: you will need 1/2 cup of mild cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar for the cheese sauce. You can use all mild or a combination of others.
This taco mac and cheese is great as a standalone meal but you could also serve with a side salad or roasted vegetables. To beef it up you could even serve it over cauliflower rice to add volume.
Serving size is approximately 240 grams or 1 heaping cup per serving. The recipe makes 6 servings.
Nutrition facts are an estimate. As always, for the most accurate measurement per serving weigh your final dish (minus the pan!) and divide by the serving amount.
“ohsnapmacros Taco Mac and Cheese”
I am not a registered dietitian or a macro coach, I am a wife and mom to two beautiful little girls on a journey to feel my best inside and out! My goal is to bring you recipes to help you do the same!
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40 Responses
This is so great! Just like any of the other Tex-Mex flavored recipes on ohsnapmacros, it makes this Texas girl happy!!
Excellent! Perfect meal prep option!
I made this today and it was AMAZING! I actually used 6oz of noodles to cut some carbs and it was great!! Thanks!!
Delicious!! I was skeptical since I don’t usually enjoy the taste of cottage cheese or Banza but it was incredible. Cozy and perfect for winter time! Our toddler also enjoyed it. Thank you!
Eating this as we speak! SO yummy and insane macros! Great for meal prep!
This is really dang good and super simple. Great for leftovers!
So quick and delicious. My husband and 15 year old son ate more than one serving and my son has requested it as a meal prep for his school lunches.
I love this!!! Thank you!
So yummy and so easy to make
My FAVORITE meal prep recipe! The portion is so filling and satisfying that I never feel the need to go back for me. (Do I want to? ABSOLUTELY. but I’m very satisfied after just one serving) The fish is full of flavor and protein! The only change I make is subbing the chickpea pasta for a protein pasta but either way is delicious!
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made this recipe twice so far with ingredients as listed and it’s been delicious and creamy both times. I don’t have an immersion blender so I used the cottage cheese as is and I couldn’t even tell. A staple!
Quick, easy and so good!
The best for meal prep. Great macros and feels like I’m eating a treat. My four year old also approves.
Delicious and easy! Thank you for another great recipe.
This was delicious – what do you think about batch making the sauce and freezing it in the appropriate increments for future cooking?
Danielle has hit it out of the park AGAIN!
It’s amazing to create your own cheese sauce here with healthy ingredients! This was easy enough, and liked it just as much as a hamburger helper skillet. Will definitely be on remake!
LOVE how easy and how delicious. The whole family loved it as well. Will add to my favorites! Thank you!!!
It’s absolutely delicious!! Have you ever frozen this?
I personally have not but I bet it would do well.
This recipe tastes naughty but it’s so good and macro friendly! Win win!! Definitely a staple recipe in my house!
Hi! I love the recipe. Just a heads up, it comes up as 284 calories/serving in myfitnesspal.
Not sure I understand. Do you mean when you search for it in MFP? It shows correctly when I search it. Or do you mean you came up with less calories when entering it? If so, you must have missed an ingredient or used something different than I did. Just triple checked my entry.
This was great! I used Zuchinni Protein Penne Pasta instead because it’s what I had. This will definitely be making it into my rotation of recipes! Thank you!
This recipe hardly needs another review, but just here to confirm it’s a winner!! Regular rotation at our house. Toddler approved!!
One of the most delicious lunches I have ever made! I’ve shared the recipe with several friends, who have in turn passed it on to their friends, and we’re all a little obsessed. The cottage cheese hack is brilliant!
Yum!
So glad you liked it!
Hamburger helper meets taco heaven!
Haha! I totally agree : )
Great flavor. I love this recipe and plan on making it again.
Love this recipe! So yummy and easy! My husband was serving himself thirds haha
So much protein!! This recipe is in our regular rotation. Super easy to make, tastes delicious (you cannot tell there is cottage cheese), really high in protein, and makes quite a bit for meal prep!
This has become one of my go-to’s for a quick, tasty meal during a busy week. My family loves this one and I often substitute in turkey burger.
This is one of my favorites! So easy and yummy + packed with the macros I need!! I make it often!
Isn’t it so easy and so so good?! This is definitely one of my favorites.
One of my favorites to make! Everyone loves it and it’s great as leftovers!
This is a fantastic recipe. My husband does not like cottage cheese and he has no clue he’s eating it. My kids tell me it’s the worst looking best dinner I’ve ever made and I mean I don’t find it bad looking at all, but if they are eating 2 bowls of it, I could care less how it looks!! Thank you for this, so happy I came across your recipes!
HAHA! Love that they think it’s deliciously ugly! Glad you all love it like we do.
So yummy!! Packed with lots of protein and so delicious!
Sooo good. I wanted to just eat it all haha! The kids liked it, too!